


A Visit From the Future

by quicksilversquared



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Time Travel, Timeline Confusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 11:39:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18409877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quicksilversquared/pseuds/quicksilversquared
Summary: No one can deny that an akuma with the power to pull people's future selves to the present has a ton of troublemaking potential. Even if they don't mean to, people from the future can accidentally give too much away.How much will the Future Ladybug and Chat Noir spoil?





	A Visit From the Future

By the time Ladybug and Chat Noir caught up with her, the Seer had dashed halfway across the city, chasing after citizens and zapping them with her powers before they could get away.

"Her powers seem harmless enough," Chat Noir commented as they watched the akuma blast a couple more unlucky civilians caught on the street, light bursting forth out of her fingertips. As the light faded, what were clearly older versions of those same pedestrians appeared on the sidewalk as the original civilians fled. The older versions from the future gave themselves a shake, disoriented, but as soon as they spotted the akuma they just sighed, shoulders slumping in resignation.

Apparently they remembered this akuma. That shouldn't have been surprising, really, but somehow it _was_.

"I _do_ wonder if Hawkmoth ever thinks his powers through," Chat Noir added as another few civilians got hit mid-escape. "As far as I can tell, if we get hit, all that would happen is that our older selves would appear, and does he _really_ want older versions of us joining the team for the day?"

"Either she's not actually trying to hit us, there's a catch, or Hawkmoth is either an idiot or hasn't thought about that yet," Ladybug agreed. "Or he can't actually control how the akumas develop. I suppose that's a possibility, too." She leaned forward to get a better look at the Seer, focusing on the akuma's outfit. "She has a ball-shaped thing hanging from her waist. A scrying ball, maybe? I bet that's her possessed item."

"A glass ball? That's easy enough to break." Chat Noir adjusted his stance, readying himself to jump. "Ready?"

"Let's go!"

 

* * *

 

As it turned out, not all glass balls were so easy to break. The Seer was fairly agile, jumping and rolling around and running away as she avoided the superheroes' attacks, and not a single crack appeared in the glowing ball.

"So much for an easy fight," Chat Noir panted as he rolled out of the way of another flash of light. He bounced to his feet and they resumed their chase, narrowly dodging the lights the Seer sent at them. Some rushed by so closely that they ruffled the superheroes' hair. "But I haven't seen any sign of her having any sort of control powers over the people she hit or their future selves."

"There might still be different _kinds_ of light, though, we've seen that before. Different powers coming from the same source." Ladybug frowned as she considered the Seer as she fled several streets over. It was fully possible that the akuma's powers were ultimately harmless and that they _could_ have already taken her down by charging in and tackling her, ignoring the blasts of light hitting them, but Ladybug didn't want to risk it. It was never a _good_ thing to get hit by an akuma's powers and after Timebreaker, Ladybug had a healthy dose of caution about any sort of time-related akumas. "I suppose we _could_ ask one of the people from the future, but what if they don't remember? This might just have been one more akuma to them, and they might have forgotten the details of what happened."

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her, narrowly dodging another blast. "Time travel wouldn't be memorable? Those people seemed to not be super surprised about it. I think that they've remembered."

Ladybug flushed at the incredulous note in his voice. "Well, _that_ part would be, yeah. But more mind control? It would be easy enough to forget which fight it went with, we've had so many." Still, Ladybug gave the now-fleeing people one last glance before returning her attention to the Seer. "What do you say- split up, you distract while I try to get the drop on her?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

Ladybug dropped down and veered off as Chat Noir charged at the Seer with renewed vigor to keep her full attention, deflecting blasts of light with his baton as best he could. It almost felt like a few bits of light brushed up against him as he pushed forward, but Chat Noir couldn't spare even a moment to check.

He had no idea if even the barest brush of the light would have the same effect as a full-body hit. For all that he knew, it _could_. There was also no way to know for _sure_ if the Seer was limited to future-self summoning, or if she had other powers hidden up her flowy sleeves.

Chat Noir worked his way forward, bracing himself against each hit. He was getting close when suddenly the Seer changed tactics, forgoing the light in favor of charging forward into Chat Noir and throwing him off balance. She took advantage of his surprise, flinging him over her shoulder into the space she had just occupied, just as Ladybug pounced. The two superheroes collided with a yelp and tumbled across the roof together in a tangled knot. Before they could recover, the Seer hit them with a flash of light and two more bodies appeared on top of them.

The entire pile groaned.

"Well, at least we were transformed when we were pulled back," a voice that was at once familiar and yet _not_ said, and the younger superheroes' eyes went huge as they realized what the Seer and Hawkmoth had probably been trying to do with her powers.

If their future selves had appeared while _detransformed_ , then Hawkmoth could have discovered who they were. Sure, they wouldn't look _exactly_ the same now as they would in the future- _especially_ since the people from the future tended to look about ten to fifteen years older than their present counterparts- but it would give Hawkmoth a far more solid lead to discovering their identities than either of them wanted.

"Considering that they're transformed, I'm guessing that the Seer's powers had to find a moment when we were bonded with Tikki and Plagg," a female voice added as the added weight on top of them shifted and lifted. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked up and came face to face with… well, with Ladybug and Chat Noir.

They stared, and Chat Noir's jaw dropped as he took in the sight of his older self and his partner. Older Chat snorted in amusement and reached over to close his mouth.

"Oh, that's not _fair!_ " the Seer screeched, and all of them whipped around to see her glowering at them. "I didn't ask for more _superheroes!_ "

With that, she gave them one more glare before whipping away and _fleeing_ as fast as her feet could carry her.

"She didn't _see_ that coming," Older Chat Noir joked, grinning. "Odd."

"Well, akumas never tended to be _that_ good at planning." Older Ladybug stepped up next to her partner, close enough that their shoulders were brushing. "And she pulls people from _a_ future, she doesn't predict the immediate outcome of certain actions.. She might have thought that it was a given that she would see our civilian selves."

"Now she has to fight us properly!" Chat Noir said triumphantly. "Unless she wants even _more_ of us."

"I wouldn't write her off _quite_ so quickly," his older counterpart told him. "She's going to keep going for avoidance and trying to startle us in order to get away, since I'm _sure_ she knows that four against one isn't going to end well for her. She's not going to suddenly decide to make things easy for us."

Older Ladybug made a face. "She's going to keep stalling, then. Drag out the fight until it's more of a hunting game than a fight, maybe try to divide us up while searching for her. We might have to recharge right away, then," she added to Older Chat. "Plagg and Tikki weren't charged up enough for a drawn-out fight, just a quick run back home."

Older Chat Noir grinned. "I know _just_ the place to buy some food for our kwamis, then," he said. "It's nearby and everything! You two will have to try to track down and contain the Seer while we're gone," he added to the younger superheroes. "We… well, we don't know how time is passing back home while we're here, and we kind of have to get back soon, so any progress would be good."

"Oh _gosh_ , the kids are going to throw a fit make a mess of the house if we're gone for long," Older Ladybug muttered, burying her face in her hands. The comment was probably intended for the older version of her partner, but the younger superheroes exchanged started looks as their older selves both looked a bit worried at the thought of the trouble their kids could be getting into without them there.

Was...was this confirmation that they would actually end up together, then?

 _Surely_ their older counterparts knew better than to _tell_ them something _big_ like that, though...right? Right?

(Maybe they were talking about both of them having kids but not the same ones? Maybe their kids were friends and they were meant to be watching them? They- they shouldn't jump to conclusions, not yet.)

"Does she have any sort of control powers?" Ladybug wanted to know, reaching out before their older selves could leave. "Like, should we worry about getting hit again?"

The older Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a glance before shaking their heads. "No, I don't think so. She'd have been using it before if she did, I think."

"And I think the Seer will be a little more careful about her powers now," Older Ladybug added. "If she got _six_ of us….wow."

"We'd be unbeatable in theory, but I think all of the differences in level of experience might throw us off," Older Chat pointed out. He glanced at the younger heroes. "Like, don't get offended if we sideline you for a bit during the fight or take over the planning. It's just been so long since we fought at, uh…."

The _at your level_ went unsaid They all knew that the older superheroes had more experience and practice and would be better. They would have developed signals with each other that the younger versions wouldn't understand, but there would be no easy way to remember mid-battle which signals the younger superheroes would know. If something went unnoticed and they weren't where their older counterparts expected them to be, they could end up in trouble.

A beep from Older Chat Noir's ring caught their attention, and the older superheroes waved before quickly jumping away. The younger duo headed in the direction that the Seer had headed off in, glancing around to try to figure out where exactly she had gotten off to.

Really, the lack of screaming going on now that more people had headed inside was a bit of a hindrance. At least it was cloudy enough that they would be able to just make out the flashes from the Seer's powers when she found people to hit.

"She's gone quiet," Chat Noir commented after a couple minutes. "Maybe we should drop down, too, and see if she starts up again- oh, wait, there she goes!"

Emboldened by the knowledge that apparently the Seer's blasts held no unwanted side effects for them, Ladybug and Chat Noir went after the akuma again. She screeched when she saw them, sending a blinding flurry of blasts in their direction and using the cover of the bright light to escape.

 _Again_. The superheroes let out twin snarls of annoyance.

This time, the Seer did a better job of hiding. The superhero duo zigzagged back and forth over the rooftops, trying to flush the akuma out. She remained stubbornly elusive, so Ladybug and Chat Noir found a good vantage point where they could see most of the city.

"I've been thinking, we could really take advantage of having our future selves here," Chat Noir said as they settled in, eyes trained on the buildings and streets below. "Like, fifteen years in the future- Hawkmoth has to be defeated by then, right? We could just ask who he is and track him down right away. Not that I don't like spending time with you or anything, but I don't want to be missing so much class all the time."

Ladybug nodded eagerly. "Yeah! We could even- if they told us, we could even go defeat him _now_ , with their help. Once the akuma is defeated and before I do the Cure, I mean."

"Oh, that would be _super_ cool! Getting to use Hawkmoth's akuma's powers against him? _Amazing._ "

They fell silent for a bit, and Ladybug leaned forward as she noticed a familiar head of dark hair on the sidewalk below. Was that her older self, detransformed? She pulled out her yo-yo and zoomed in, enough to confirm that- yep, that was definitely her, hair pulled up into a distinctive braided bun. She beamed up at her companion as they sped down the street, wrapping her arm around his as they laughed together. She leaned up quickly to press a light kiss to his cheek- and _oh_ , that was _definitely_ an older Adrien, wow. He was _stunning_ , with long hair tamed into a low ponytail and high cheekbones painting a picture of a fiercely handsome man. Time had _definitely_ been kind to him.

But how had her future self ended up with future Adrien as a civilian? She was meant to be with Chat Noir, getting their kwamis recharged as fast as they could before rejoining the fight.

("Fight". Right now, it was more of a _chase_ or a _search_ , and that was _crazy_ frustrating. Their older selves had asked them to try to track down and at least contain the Seer, and they hadn't _done_ that yet.)

Unless… well, she couldn't be _entirely_ certain that she _hadn't_ gotten hit again, not with all of the near misses that hadn't _necessarily_ been misses but she had just been too occupied to check. Maybe _this_ Marinette was from another hit, and she had decided that having three of them out and transformed at once would have affected Tikki? Then _Adrien_ must have gotten hit at some point, even though normally his bodyguard kept him far from the akuma fights if possible, and… well, maybe he didn't realize it? Maybe he had been swept up in a group of fleeing people and had left his future self behind, where his older version caught up with _her_ future self and they decided to take advantage of their time together and do a walking cuddle down the sidewalk.

So… was she married to Adrien, then, after all? _Just friends_ didn't act like that around each other, so that had to be it. Married to Adrien but just really good friends with Chat Noir and so their kids hung out together? That would be _lovely_. Ladybug had always hoped that she and Chat Noir would stay friends after Hawkmoth was defeated, since they worked together so well and got along.

Older Adrien and Marinette vanished from view around the corner, and Ladybug returned her attention to the Paris skyline. The clouds overhead were darkening, which meant that once the Seer came out of hiding and started going after people again, the light would be more obvious than ever.

"D'you think our older selves have charged up yet?" Chat Noir asked after another couple minutes had passed with no sign of the akuma. "I mean, we don't know where they were headed, I guess."

Ladybug had a pretty good guess, honestly. If they went to her parents' bakery, they could get sweets for Tikki and something with cheese in it for Plagg. They might even explain who they were- not that it would take her mom long to figure it out, not with the knowledge of the akuma out and about, and not with Older Marinette so _clearly_ recognizable- and they would get the food for free. If the older superheroes had detransformed straight away, it would have been probably a five- or ten-minute walk to the bakery, and then time for the kwamis to actually eat.

"I'm sure they'll come soon," Ladybug offered, rather than telling Chat Noir all of that. Maybe she and Chat Noir knew each other's identities in the future, but that was _years_ away. "And- oh, there's a flash, let's go!"

They ran, keeping low to the rooftops so that they wouldn't attract attention. They were halfway there when the older Ladybug and Chat Noir joined them, looking focused and fierce.

"We'll circle her," Older Ladybug told them. "Come in from each side. Running is her _thing_ , but she can't escape if all of us are in the way."

"Before- before we do that, do we want to come up with a contingency plan?" Chat Noir suggested timidly. "In case she actually fights us? I mean, I know how my Lady thinks so I can figure out what her plans are, at least most of the time. But with you two, you've had more time to think of plans and, uh…"

"I believe our younger selves are calling us old, love," Older Chat Noir told Older Ladybug, grinning widely. Chat Noir spluttered.

"No! No, I was just saying that you might think of plans that we might not, and so it would be harder to communicate those plans with just looks when we're mid-fight and can't talk without the Seer overhearing us! I'm not saying you're old- you don't look old at all, you look in top condition really, you could probably take on both of us no problem-"

"Please stop tormenting your younger self," Older Ladybug told Older Chat Noir with a sigh, but the fond look that she gave him told everyone that she wasn't _really_ exasperated. "He knows that you weren't calling him old," she added to Chat Noir. "He just enjoys tormenting himself, evidently. But I think that's a good idea."

"We wanted to ask about the future, too," Ladybug chimed in. "If you know who Hawkmoth is-"

Both of the older superheroes winced in unison at that, and Ladybug paused. After a moment, her older self spoke up.

"We _do_ know who he is, but we can't tell you," she told Ladybug and Chat Noir. "You're not ready yet. You'll need to learn the power-ups that your Miraculous allow and how to use them effectively before you're ready to face Hawkmoth. Right now, he's learned how to access and stretch some of his powers, so a faceoff right away would not be wise."

"But if we don't do the Cure, you could help us with the fight before returning to the future," Chat Noir said earnestly. "And we could learn about the power-ups later on, and have more time to learn if we aren't having to already balance school and- and everything else with akuma attacks- no?"

Older Chat Noir was shaking his head. "You can't properly learn how to use the power-ups outside of battle. And even without Miraculous Cure, I get the feeling that the Seer's effects would dissipate pretty quickly once her crystal ball is broken. You don't want to be mid-faceoff and have us suddenly sent back. The future _will_ change if that happens, and there's no way to tell how _that_ would turn out."

The younger superheroes frowned. They hadn't thought of that.

"And if we let the Seer run free while we go after Hawkmoth, he could easily recall his powers and de-akumatize her. It would have the same effect as releasing the akuma, even without the Cure," Older Chat Noir added when his younger self opened his mouth to suggest something else. The younger Chat Noir made a face at that, and his older self grinned. "And _yes_ , I _did_ know that you were about to suggest that, because unless you've forgotten, I _am_ you."

"We _can_ tell you that you'll be stronger together," Ladybug told them, sending a fond glance towards her partner. "Never forget that you _aren't_ alone. And don't let _anyone_ else find out your identity. If you can find ways to hide your Miraculous or make it less suspicious, do that. Maybe be seen without it on occasion, but have it on your person somewhere."

Ladybug frowned. That made it sound as though Hawkmoth was someone who was close enough to them or saw them often enough to actually notice what jewelry they were or were not wearing. That was a _terrifying_ thought, really. And it _was_ a clue, as vague as it was.

"As for the akuma…" Older Ladybug exchanged a look with her partner. "If I'm remembering correctly, she's only been a problem because we weren't sure about the extent of her powers and then she was being really evasive. With four of us circling her and not giving her a chance to escape, we shouldn't have a problem."

"Hit before she notices us and tries to blind us, then," Older Chat added. "How about we have the Ladybugs come from behind? They can restrain her from a distance, and the two of us can be a distraction. That sound like a plan?"

They all nodded and split up, the two Ladybugs circling around to the back. The Seer was concentrated on a small, disgruntled group of citizens trapped in an alley, and she shrieked when the first yo-yo shot out and caught her arm before she could hit another person.

"I'm just showing them their futures!" the Seer yelled angrily as her other arm was caught and restrained. "I was showing the world that it _is_ possible to see into the future, to know what's yet to come! I'm not _hurting_ anything!"

"You're showing them _a_ future," Older Chat Noir corrected her. "The future can change. You're just pulling people from a _likely_ future."

"And _likely_ isn't guaranteed," Older Ladybug added. "It never is. Things can change and shift, depending on what decisions people make."

The Seer struggled. "No! But the stars- our future is _written_ in them-"

The older Chat Noir lunged, shadows trailing from his claws even before he hit the glass ball hanging at the Seer's waist. It disintegrated, swirly, glittery purple turning to dust and clattering to the ground. The akuma fluttered loose, and Ladybug snagged it in a heartbeat.

Before she let it go, though, she hesitated.

"Are you _sure_ you can't give us any more clues about Hawkmoth's identity?" she asked hopefully. "Anything else at _all?_ "

"As frustrating as I'm sure it is- no, we can't," Older Ladybug told them. "Really." She held out her fist for each of them to bump before exchanging a quick kiss with the older Chat Noir. They exchanged a quick grin before turning back to their younger selves. "Great fight, guys. Stay safe."

Chat Noir's eyes went wide as he watched. Ladybug, who had started to suspect that maybe their older counterparts weren't _just_ friends, considering the looks they gave each other, only smiled. "You, too."

The older Ladybug grinned in return, then flung her yo-yo up into the air. They hadn't needed a Lucky Charm, but that was fine. "Miraculous Cure!"

A cloud of sparkling red and black rushed down from the sky, whisking the older superheroes away. It rushed across the city, bringing everyone back to their own time before turning the Seer back into a willowy woman draped in stereotypical fortune teller's outfit. She seemed more resigned than anything else as she pushed herself up off the ground, picked up her repaired crystal ball, waved to the superheroes, and left.

" _That_ was a strange fight," Chat Noir commented as he and Ladybug headed back to their part of the city, going slower than normal since they hadn't used their powers and had the time to spare. "I'm surprised that our older selves weren't willing to tell us anything about Hawkmoth, but _were_ willing to be all cozy in front of us."

Ladybug said nothing, just worrying her lip instead.

"But then earlier in the fight, I saw my older _civilian_ self with- with someone else," Chat Noir continued with a frown. "So I just don't know what…"

They both paused for a few moments, puzzled, before Ladybug clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Oh, they _gave_ us the answer, didn't they?" Ladybug said, a bit exasperated that she hadn't put it together before. She had caught on that the older superheroes were romantically close earlier, but had decided to leave the figuring out how that and what she had seen with Older Marinette and Older Adrien fit together until when they _weren't_ in the middle of an akuma battle. Looking back, it was _obvious_. "When we were fighting the Seer, they said that the future isn't set, and that the akuma was only pulling people from a _likely_ future. Which means that maybe both of the futures were likely for us."

"It would be interesting to know what differed between the two futures," Chat Noir commented. He chanced a glance at Ladybug, worrying at his lip as he did. "Like, why we were with different people."

Ladybug suspected that he wanted to know what path would have them ending up together. She couldn't blame him- after all, _she_ was wondering how she ended up with Adrien.

"I guess we'll find out?" Ladybug suggested weakly. "It's good that we _did_ see a second version, though. Otherwise we might make decisions based on what we were told, instead of acting normally. And who knows how _that_ would have changed the timeline?"

"True enough," Chat Noir agreed. He shrugged once, then glanced at her. "See you at the next attack?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

 

* * *

 

Alya was practically _bubbling_ with glee when Adrien came into the classroom the next morning. She grinned as he sat down, wide enough that it was slightly unnerving.

"She's been doing this ever since I came in," Marinette told him wearily. There was a touch of pink on her cheeks, as though Alya had maybe been teasing her about something before he came in. Adrien turned a bit pink as well, remembering the _second_ version of Older Him that he had seen running around with Marinette. "Apparently she has some sort of _big scoop_ , but she's been refusing to tell anyone until you got here. She claimed that it was _vital_ that you be here to hear it."

Adrien's attention moved to Alya. "Oh? Well, I'm here now. What's the big scoop about?"

Alya practically bounced in her seat as she sat up straight. "Your _future_."

"That's… ominous," Nino commented warily. "Uh, can you elaborate, or…?"

"Funny you should ask!" Alya clapped one hand down on Marinette's shoulder, and Marinette flinched. "So, during the Seer's attack yesterday, I just _happened_ to be out and about nearby. I didn't manage to get hit-"

"Wait, you _wanted_ to?" Nino exclaimed, aghast. " _Why?_ "

"I wanted to ask my future self some questions, obviously," Alya said with a nonchalant shrug. "I was trying to interview some other people's future selves, but they refused to tell me _anything_. Something about messing up the timeline. It was ridiculous, honestly."

Adrien let out a small sigh of relief at that. After what the older Ladybug and Chat Noir had told them about them not being ready to rush into a final fight, it would suck to have their hand forced just because the information on Hawkmoth's identity got to them early and Alya would no doubt throw a fuss if they didn't do _something_ with what she had dug up.

(Not that he had fully accepted that right away- he had been sulky about the lack of useful information after he got home, and it wasn't until after Plagg enlightened him about some of the possible power-ups that Hawkmoth might have obtained that he admitted that _yeah, their older selves were probably onto something_.)

"But not being _told_ anything doesn't mean that I didn't _learn_ anything," Alya continued. "I still had eyes, after all. Guess who's future selves I saw out together?"

Adrien felt a strange sinking feeling in his gut. He had an inkling that he might know where this was going, and… oh, _gosh_. How was he meant to get out of _this_ without offending anyone?

"Who?" Nino asked, completely oblivious to Adrien's inner turmoil. Then he brightened. "Oh, wait, let me guess- Ladybug and Chat Noir? I saw some pictures of that, I think! They look _super_ cool as adults. I liked the changes to their outfits!"

"No- well, yeah, I saw them too, and snapped some _awesome_ pictures! And then I got close enough to hear them talking and they were worrying about what _their_ _kids_ might be getting up to while they were in their past! So that's future Ladynoir confirmed! I was in the middle of writing up an entire article about it last night, but I ended up having to babysit." Alya made a face. "So I'll finish it tonight. It'll be a _huge_ scoop, I know it already!"

Adrien blinked. How on _earth_ had Alya gotten close enough to the older superheroes- and _stayed_ there for more than a couple seconds- to overhear enough of the conversation to pick up what their conversation had been about? Older Ladybug and Chat Noir would have been trying to go fast to get stuff for recharging, surely. But the fact that Alya had _heard_ so much, when the older superheroes should have been able to go overhead in a matter of seconds.

So had the older superheroes _intended_ for Alya to overhear? It seemed like that was the only way that that could happen.

Nino was grinning. "Miniature catbugs? That's so cute!"

"Yeah, but we all knew that they would end up together. It's cool to have that confirmation, but it was _obvious_ that it was going to happen eventually." Alya's grin got wilder. "No, guess again."

Adrien tried to look confused. "I don't know?"

"I'll give you a hint- who got caught up in the akuma attack yesterday?" Alya prompted, giving him a significant look, and Adrien muffled a sigh. He couldn't play dumb any longer.

"Me?"

Alya pointed at him. "Bingo! And the other person- Marinette, I know you know I'm talking about you, stop trying to hide."

Marinette had turned a spectacular shade of pink and buried her face in her hands. Apparently she had caught on, which suggested that she had seen their older selves together and had deduced what kind of relationship they had.

Which...well, it wasn't hard to figure it out. Their older selves had been _pretty_ obvious with the PDA.

"Wait, what?" Nino asked, suddenly interested again. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"That these two grow up and get married and have kids? You bet." Alya's grin turned into a smirk. "I _knew_ it was going to happen someday. So, when are you two lovebirds going to start dating?"

"Alya-" Adrien started, but he didn't know what to say. It wasn't as though he would be entirely opposed to dating Marinette- his older self had looked _very_ happy with her, after all- but he didn't want to be pressured into dating Marinette, either. That wouldn't be very fun for either of them, not when he was still in love with Ladybug.

"Actually, I don't think any of the future selves were _guaranteed_ ," Marinette's voice knocked Adrien out of his thoughts and he blinked in surprise. It was as though she had read his mind. "I got hit twice when I was trying to get away, and ended up with two _different_ future selves."

Oh, well, that made things _easy_. Thank goodness he and Marinette were in the same boat.

"Same here," Adrien spoke up. He glanced up at Marinette, remembering what she had looked like as an adult. He hadn't seen the second version of her- maybe Other Future Marinette and her other partner had gone in a different direction, as to not cause any trouble between her potential spouses- but he was super-glad that she had ended up with someone either way. Marinette was too sweet to not find love. "I guess the future isn't set in stone, which makes sense. Our choices aren't set, so why would everything that depends on our choices be set?"

Alya's expression had fallen into complete dismay. "Wait- you mean the older versions of you were with _different people?_ "

Marinette and Adrien nodded in unison.

"Oh, come _on_ ," Alya groaned, flopping back into her seat. "But the versions I saw looked so happy! And they had at least two kids, I overheard them talking about them when I was following them around. And I wanted to be Auntie Alya."

Nino snorted at that. "Babe, you're _way_ too young to be _any_ sort of aunt. And if the other versions of Adrien and Marinette had them having kids with _anyone_ , you'll still get to be honorary aunt."

"Oh, I know, but…" Alya eyed Adrien and Marinette, then let out a long sigh. "Fine, fine. I'll still _hope_ , of course, but I suppose I'll let it develop naturally."

"That's probably for the best," Nino commented. "If you rush stuff, who knows how that could mess up the future-"

"But at least let me show you the pictures I took of your future selves," Alya cut across, waving her phone at them. "They're _adorable_. We have a few minutes before class starts!"

As Adrien leaned over to see the pictures, he exchanged a look with Marinette. His friend was still pink, but she managed a small smile for him. He smiled back, glad that things hadn't gotten weird between them after the akuma attack. They could stay friends and see how things turned out between them, either developing into a couple or getting together with other people. No matter way it went- if he ended up with Ladybug or with Marinette, both of whom were _incredible_ girls, kind and sweet and warm- Adrien knew that he would be happy.

For him, the future looked bright.

 

* * *

 

_Fifteen Years in the Future_

Ladybug and Chat Noir grinned at each other as they reappeared in their bedroom in a flurry of red and black sparkles. They detransformed in a dual flash of light, and immediately started giggling.

"Remember how _confused_ we were?" Marinette asked with a laugh, catching Tikki and setting her on the dresser. "We were convinced that there were two versions of us wandering around, each with a different partner!"

"I remember wondering who Ladybug's other potential husband was, and who else Marinette could have ended up with," Adrien admitted. "I spent a _ridiculous_ amount of time obsessing about that, actually. I thought Luka, maybe, or someone in one of the other classes."

"He spent _so much_ time talking about it, even when he was still in denial about having a crush on you," Plagg spoke up, avoiding Adrien's grabs to go perch on Marinette's shoulders. "It was all, _who else do you think she could end up with? Do you think she would tell me if I asked? Plagg, who do you think-?"_

"Curiosity and cats?" Adrien suggested weakly.

"I love you too, kitty." Marinette squeezed his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I can't deny that I was pretty curious, too. But I couldn't resist teasing our past selves a little."

"And you told _me_ off for doing that. And only a _little?_ We totally manipulated everything to be confusing as possible. Admit it, we were trolling our past selves."

Marinette laughed at that. "And your past self thanked me for stopping your teasing, don't think that I missed the look of relief on his face. Besides, if we _didn't_ tease ourselves and Alya, we might have drawn some _seriously_ different conclusions about what had happened in the future and tried to get into a relationship before we were really ready."

"I'll give you that." Adrien glanced at the clock on the wall. "But speaking of future- I can see some grumpy kids in our future if we don't hurry over to the bakery, because if we take much longer we're going to be late picking them up from your parents' place."

"They'll only be grumpy if Maman and Papa insisted on getting them ready to leave and they've just been sitting and waiting for us, but you know that my parents wouldn't do that. They like keeping the grandkids around for as long as possible." Regardless, Marinette headed for the door. "I'll text them if you drive."

"Sounds good." Adrien followed her out into the main area of their apartment, snagging the car keys on the wall as they headed out the door. "And Marinette?"

Marinette turned around, a small smile on her face as she looked up at him. Adrien would _never_ get tired of that look, he knew that for sure. "Hmm?"

"I'm glad you're my future."

Marinette's smile softened, and she leaned up to exchange a kiss with him. "I'm glad you're my future, too."

**Author's Note:**

> Future!Ladybug and Chat Noir: Professional trolls.
> 
> As with most of my stories, this is a one-shot and is therefore complete! And as always, reviews make my day! :)


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